The Australian, Wealth – Gold report THERE are many ways to buy gold and unless you want some complicated financial instrument the Perth Mint pretty much offers all of them, despite the fact that it owns very little gold itself. “We don’t own any gold, or virtually none at all,” says Perth Mint treasurer Nigel Moffatt. The reason it doesn’t own much gold is that it either borrows at an interest rate of about 15 basis points, holds it on […]
journalism
Turning clicks into cash
The Australian, Entrepreneur DARREN Rowse is an accidental entrepreneur. The Melbourne-based lay preacher has earned more than $700,000 from internet advertising since 2003 simply by working out what people want to read on the internet. Now he runs the B5Media Network of 320 bloggers with co-founders Shai Coggins from Adelaide and Jeremy Wright from Toronto after 18 months ago raising $US2 million in venture capital. Mr Rowse was an internet amateur when he started blogging in 2002 after a friend […]
Small screen’s big picture
The Australian, Entrepreneur AUSTRALIA is behind the rest of the world with online shopping. According to online researcher Hitwise, just 6.75 per cent of Australian internet traffic last month was for shopping and classifieds. In the US, 9.54 per cent and Britain 9.61 per cent of traffic was in this category. In the DVD market, 10 per cent of US households have rented online; in Australia it’s under 1 per cent. The good news is that this means there is […]
Art in the right place
The Australian, Entrepreneur ARTIST or businesswoman? The question is one that’s often asked about Abigail Crompton. She started her career creating museum shop souvenirs for the National Gallery of Victoria and Craft Victoria, which gave her the idea to make art a business — the Third Drawer Down Gallery. She kicked off with 200 tea towels her father had given her. She decorated five herself before becoming bored and farming out the decorating to others. This was the beginning of […]
Your bank, exclusively
The Australian, Wealth Qualifying is half the battle to be a customer of a private bank, Ed Charles reports | February 28, 2007 THE world of private banking consists of an exclusive club of retail bank clients and an elite club of global private bank clients. The level of personal service you get and what you pay will depend very much on how much money you have. At the very least for membership of this club you will need assets […]
High-end bankers aim high
The Australian, Wealth IT isn’t possible to have too much money. But it is possible to have too little debt. This is one of the main differences between choosing private banking services from the private banks born on the shores of Lake Geneva and local retail banks born on the Yarra or Sydney’s harbour. Both kinds of banks cultivate an air of exclusivity but in reality most are open for business from the increasing number of high-net-worth individuals in Australia. […]
Private banking: personal service cost
The Australian, Wealth INTERNATIONAL banks are targeting the Australian market to provide high-end private banking services that don’t necessarily involve mortgages. Both HSBC and Citibank have launched private banking packages: Premier and Citigold, respectively. They have less stringent requirements than the local so-called private retail banks, but are nevertheless aimed at wealthy people. British banking group HBOS is also building its share of the local market through its BankWest brand, which is expanding on the east coast and offers private […]
In the trenches: marketing in China
IN THE BLACK: In the trenches Cool customers: the growing Chinese consumer goods market may give us the greatest lessons about understanding the customer. By Ed Charles Knowing your customer is essential to the success of any business enterprise. China is the market that many multinationals are concentrating on. So how does one begin to understand this rapidly expanding and complex market? The scale and the nuances of China are bewildering. Nearly 80 per cent of the country’s people are […]
Eating in ’08
Herald Sun, Citystyle Rising prices is the biggest news in food this year, writes ED CHARLES WHEREVER you eat this year, it will cost more. Stay at home and the basic staples of flour, bread, pasta and dairy will cost more. Eat out and it will cost more – and the standard of service might not be up to scratch because of a huge shortage of waiters, sommeliers and chefs. Even dishwashers (the human variety) are in short supply. “The […]